Eatdrink #67 September/October 2017 "The Decade Issue"

22 | September/October 2017
Drive-Thru — located at a former Harvey’s at
Highbury and Cheapside. www.globallylocal.ca
The Ground Up Organic Café at
Richmond and Piccadilly offers an organic,
plant-based and eco-conscious menu that
changes daily. Try the “No-Chicken Curry
Wrap” or the “Chili Cheezy Potato Bowl”. The
café features espresso drinks, smoothies and
various grab-and-go items, including “Drop the
Beet Slaw”. “Plant-based” puts an emphasis on
real food. Everything at The Ground Up Cafe is
by definition vegan, entirely free from animal
and animal by-products. But they take it a step
further to make sure menu items are healthpromoting
whole foods, prepared fresh. www.
thegroundupcafe.com
Heather Pinsky’s Naturally Vegan
Company is London’s boutique vegan
kitchen. Pinsky prepares strictly vegan meals
created especially for home or office delivery. All
meals are prepared in the commercial kitchen
at The London Food Incubator at 630 Dundas
Street. Pinsky also offers themed, interactive
vegan cooking workshops. Recent themes have
included The Vegan Pantry, Middle Eastern,
Italian, Mexican, and Sauces, Dressings and
Condiments. Pinsky’s focus is healthy and
“yummy” vegan food with a particular emphasis
on baking. www.naturallyvegancompany.com
Plant Matter Kitchen, located in the
heart of Wortley Village, is owned by Glenn
Whitehead and business partner Melanie Wendt
who are dedicated to health and wellness. PMK
is the culmination of many of their passions,
including healthy eating, organic cuisine,
Dan Plamondon’s Wellington
Market brings local and
organic to the SOHO (South
Horton) area
eatdrink.ca |@eatdrinkmag
Plant Matters Kitchen — popular in Wortley Village, and
coming soon to downtown London
collaborative cooking and supporting local
business. This wholly vegan, plant-based, organic
restaurant has a distinctly back-to-the-earth
vibe with an open kitchen and a modern urban
sensibility. PMK features a smoothie and juice
bar and offers chilled organic brews. Giving back
to the community is part of the PMK’s mandate,
making the eatery part of an ethics-driven
model of business culture that adopts socially
responsible practices. A second exciting iteration
of PMK is expected to open soon downtown,
in the former Braywick Bistro location. www.
plantmatterkitchen.com
Rhino Lounge Bakery Coffee
Shoppe in Museum London has evolved
into London’s newest plant-based hot spot.
The offerings aren’t completely vegan yet but
they will no longer be serving meat. Chef
Michele Lenhardt is the long-time River Room/
North Moore Catering pastry chef and former
co-owner of Black Walnut Café and pastry chef
at the AGO. If you are a connoisseur of classic
pastry and dessert, you have come to the right
place — the bakery creates plant-based magic
in their in-house scratch bakery every day.
Lenhardt is also a renowned innovator and
authority on vegan offerings and brings plantbased
cuisine to a whole new level. The Rhino
makes a delicious hybrid doughnut, homage to
the cronut, and is only available on Thursdays.
Chef offers a plant-based prix-fixe menu on
Thursday evenings. Call for reservations. www.
rhinolounge.ca
The seeds for VegFest London were sown
in 2013 when founder Krista Kankula, after
attending the Niagara VegFest and Toronto
Veg Food Fest, realized that London needed
its own festival. Organized by a dedicated
group of volunteers, VegFest London is
an annual festival showcasing alternative
food, health, and beauty products that are